Starting in early August, you may notice a few changes among the Heroes staff.

Today we announce the departures of Justin Crouse and Rico Renzi. Justin has been our Store Manager for 5 years, and Rico our Creative Director for nearly 8 years. Please join us in thanking and wishing Justin and Rico well in their new endeavors.

Justin has maintained the difficult task of ordering all new merchandise for the store, which is much harder to manage than you could  imagine. Ordering new comics each week is far from a perfect science, and he has done a great job of navigating the ever-changing landscape of the comic buying public. While he will no longer be serving as Store Manager, he will remain with us as an occasional store clerk, filling the odd shift, and continuing to share his wealth of comics knowledge. You can also find him at the legendary Lupie’s Café, a favorite local restaurant of ours. Justin is a talented cartoonist and we hope he will get the chance to spend more time writing and drawing, as we are all big fans of his art and wit.

Joining the likes of Casey Jones, Matt Fraction, Dustin Harbin and Bridgit Connell, Rico becomes the latest in a long history of talented Heroes staffers who have made the move into full-time comic work. Rico just wrapped up his acclaimed work on the homegrown hit Spider-Gwen, and will continue to be seen in the pages of Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. You’ll also be able to find him reunited with Spider-Gwen artist Robbi Rodriguez this December in the new Vertigo comic Goddess Mode. He’ll have further new announcements later this year, as well, so find him on social media to stay up to date. While Rico will now be freelancing full-time, he will remain a true “Hero” at heart and will be assisting with occasional design work and con assistance.

The common thread in any retail establishment is change. Heroes has been in existence as a store for nearly 40 years, and has persevered through every kind of change, be it staff or industry wide. We are happy to remain your friendly neighborhood comic shop, offering the best in comics, new and old, and collecting supplies. We are already hard at work on HeroesCon 2019, with the first of many guest announcements arriving in the next few months.  In the meantime, here’s a brief listing of our core management group, should you ever need to contact us:

Shelton Drum started Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find back in 1980 and remains our leader and guiding force. You can reach him at shelton@heroesonline.com with any questions regarding the store, HeroesCon, or if you have Silver and/or Golden Age comics that you would like to sell. He will continue to be on the road setting up at conventions across the country, happily selling and buying comics and promoting all things Heroes throughout the year. It wouldn’t be Heroes without Shelton (plus, he’s the one who writes the checks and pays the bills)!

Legend has it that Karla Southern has been in attendance at every single HeroesCon. With that many conventions under her belt, it only makes sense that she will remain our Event Coordinator. She will also be absorbing much of Rico’s convention workload. You can email her at karla@heroesonline.com with any HeroesCon exhibitor, artist and artist alley questions, or with any promotional or marketing queries. You can also ask her about the Charlotte Mini-Con, Pop Swap and all other Heroes Events.

After spending the past 11 years as Heroes Warehouse Manager, Seth Peagler will now assume the duties of Operations Manager, overseeing the day-to-day functions of both the store and warehouse. He will continue to manage supply sales and will consult on product ordering. You can email him at seth@heroesonline.com if you have a comic collection you’re looking to sell, questions about our store, or if you need to order collecting supplies.

We’re happy to announce that Elias Pittman will be assuming the Inventory Manager position, crunching numbers and ordering new products each week. Elias has been a reliable store clerk for nearly 4 years. His enthusiasm for comics is contagious, and he is already greatly appreciated by the staff and our customers. You can reach him at elias@heroesonline.com to request new comics (and variants), update your pull sheet, or ask any question regarding the store.

We may have a few more new staff announcements soon, but for now it’s business as usual for all of us. We’re still fortunate to have great support from lovable curmudgeon Phil Southern, young stalwart Sam Reynolds and jack-of-all-trades Winslow Drum. September will be our First Anniversary in our new location, so that might warrant a celebration! October is just around the corner, and that means Pop Swap isn’t far away. Then we’re just a few short months from Charlotte Mini-Con. Before you know it, HeroesCon 2019 will be on our doorstep. Thanks for sticking with us. We’re excited about the future of Heroes, and continuing to be your comics source.

– HEROES

(Many thanks to Bridgit Connell for the use of her HAHTF Staff drawings!)